Thursday, April 8, 2010

Where does last night's defeat leave Manchester United?


James Ducker of the Times answers some important questions about Manchester United's defeat to Bayern Munich last night in the UEFA Champions League.

Was it the goal before half-time, the sending off or Wayne Rooney's injury that turned the tie last night?

The goal just before half-time was a killer blow. If United had reached the interval at 3-0 they probably would have been OK even if they had still gone down to ten men. The goal came against the run of play and appeared to knock the wind out of United's sails after what had been a dream start to the match.

What made it worse was that the defending that led to the goal was so poor. As I have said before, United have developed a habit of conceding very soft goals against the better sides at home this season. Last night was another example, because Bayern's first goal was extremely soft.

Ferguson was obviously furious with the attempts of the Bayern players to get Rafael sent off, but he should have reserved his ire for the defending that led to that goal. After they had been reduced to ten men they were always open to a sucker punch and Arjen Robben delivered it.

No comments:

Post a Comment